With Dr. Joseph Chuman.
Contemporary humanism as expressed by a small but growing number of organizations bearing the name is historically a relatively recent phenomenon. It evolved in the nineteenth century out of strands of philosophical idealism centered on the European continent and emergent agnosticism which was taking hold in Britain. Humanism was "codified" with the publication of the Humanist Manifesto in 1933, which proclaimed a roster of values and principles that form the nucleus of the modern movement.
But humanism, defined more broadly, has had a much deeper historical reach extending to ancient times with representatives in both the West and East. In this sense, humanism is not reducible to a set of principles, but to an orientation to life that appreciates the breadth of human expression, whether in art, literature, religion and other cultural and creative endeavors. It resonates with the human element behind thoughts and deeds expressive of a humanity that is not reducible to deterministic or formulaic understandings of the human condition.
Humanism thus understood implicitly rebels against the imperiousness of a mechanistic and overly technological culture. It is this wider humanism that will be explored.
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